


Minhyuk.

by Pascalle



Series: Become Human [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Androids, Gen, Sentience
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 19:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8546947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pascalle/pseuds/Pascalle
Summary: “Oh…” Minhyuk trailed off for a moment, a hand coming up to brush his bangs aside. “I see. I just thought…”“You thought? What did you think?” Wonho looked down at his assembly panel, right at the emergency disassemble button that he thought he’d never have to use. He couldn’t even look up when he heard the quivering voice continue.“I thought...I was alive.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the Quantic Dream animation 'Kara'

“You look tired.” Wonho grinned lightly, leaning against the doorway. “Long day?”

Hyungwon’s head lifted up off his hand, and he let out a loud yawn as he stretched, standing up from his spot at the assembly panel. “You have no idea. This is the last time I agree to taking a nightshift. I ended up asking the last model the same question 4 times before realizing. Glad they’re not sentient enough to judge me.” He patted Wonho on the shoulder.

“Just be glad the higher ups won’t know, you’ve been reprimanded enough about falling asleep on the job. If we get a complaint on a malfunction, that’s all on you.” 

Hyungwon waved him off. “They won’t. Anyways, there’s just one left to make on this line. After that you get started on the new Changkyun models.” 

“Right.” Wonho watched as Hyungwon exited the control room, closing the door quietly behind him and leaving him in silence. 

He sighed, setting down his mug of coffee and picking up the tablet that Hyungwon had quickly abandoned as soon as he had heard Wonho open the door. Sure enough, there was only one model left on this line before they got shipped out. He took a sip of his coffee as he hit the start button, watching the white, mechanical arms begin assembling a neck and head, melding it onto a chest and torso, the exposed blue heart already pumping rhythmically to a silent beat. Wonho hit the mic button.

“Can you hear me?”

Dark brown eyes flitted open, and his already pink lips parted and a husky voice responded to him. “Yes.” 

“What’s your ID?” Wonho continued.

He responded immediately. “MHL931103X.” 

“Move your head.” The model did as he said. “Now your eyes.” 

Wonho watched quietly as the model’s eyes flitted around, and it was almost as if he was showing...real curiosity, as the models eyes shifted and watched the mechanical arms that were assembling him. But he shook his head, before looking down and checking boxes on the tablet. The cervical and optical animations were both functioning perfectly. 

He looked up and hit the mic again. “Can you give me your initialization text?”

He began to speak, head still turning as he watched his arms get melded onto him. “Hello. I am a third generation X-514 Android. I can look after your house, do the cooking, mind your children. I organize all your appointments and speak three hundred languages. I am entirely at your disposal as a sexual partner. There is no need to feed me or recharge me, I am equipped with a quantic battery that makes me autonomous for one hundred and seventy-three years.” He turned to Wonho and looked at him directly. “Do you want to give me a name?”

Wonho was silent for a few seconds, not expecting the sudden eye contact, but he continued. “Yes. From now on, your name is Minhyuk.” 

The lips of the android quirked upwards at his sentence, and he repeated him in almost...a dreamy voice. “My name is Minhyuk.” 

Wonho was starting to feel something...something not distinctly right with what was happening. He watched the ways Minhyuk’s lips twitched as he continued to observe his surroundings. Never before in his time working at Starship did he see an android just...watch like this. He had joked with Hyungwon earlier at androids judging him, yet for the first time in his life he actually felt like there was another presence in there with him. He looked down at his tablet again as Minhyuk’s gaze returned to him. Initialization and memorization were both checked. 

Maybe he should have declined the nightshift as well, maybe he wasn’t getting enough sleep.

“Can you move your arms?” Just as before, Minhyuk seemed fascinated as he lifted his arms and watched the bioskin begin to change colors to match the skin color of his face. Minhyuk reached up and brushed his fingertips down his newly acquired skin. Everything was working as normal, his upperlimb connection is checked.

“Say something in Spanish.” 

“Hola. Soy una tercera generación X-514 Android. Puedo cuidar su casa, preparar la comida, cuidar sus hijos.”

“Now in French.”

Everything was still working fine. Minhyuk was passing every single test.

“Now sing something in Korean.” He watched, with his mouth hanging open slightly. 

_“너의 기억 속에서 난 없는 사람일 뿐 처음 본 얼굴일 뿐인데”_

As the android was singing, his legs were connected, Wonho began lowering him to the ground, and with a gentle thud Minhyuk’s bare feet came in contact with the ground. He looked surprised, looking down at his feet as Wonho urged him to take a few steps. 

Minhyuk seemed cautious at first, taking a tentative step forward. But as soon as he was sure that he wasn’t going to fall, he took another step forward, and another. And the brightest smile spread across his lips as he held his arms out and spun around. All the while his skin began forming on the rest his body, and from where Wonho sat he could already see snow white strands of hair begin growing out his scalp until it was long enough to cover his forehead. Wonho looked down and checked the final box, locomotion completely fine.

He looked up and smiled at Minhyuk as the machine around the android fitted him with underwear and a white tank top that matched his hair color. “Alright, you should be all ready for work.”

Minhyuk looked up at him curiously. “What’s going to happen to me now?” 

Wonho hesitated slightly, not expecting the question. “I’m going to be reinitializing you and you’ll be sent to a store to be sold.”

“Sold?” Minhyuk’s eyes widened. “I’m...merchandise? Is that right?”

Wonho could feel his heartbeat starting to speed up, and when he spoke he could feel a quiver in his voice as he continued a bit too quickly. “Of course you’re merchandise. I mean, you’re a computer with arms and legs and you’re able to do so many things that us normal humans aren’t capable of. You’re worth a fortune.”

“Oh…” Minhyuk trailed off for a moment, a hand coming up to brush his bangs aside. “I see. I just thought…”

“You thought? What did you think?” Wonho looked down at his assembly panel, right at the emergency disassemble button that he thought he’d never have to use. He couldn’t even look up when he heard the quivering voice continue.

“I thought...I was alive.” 

“Shit…” Wonho mumbled to himself. “What’s happening? This isn’t supposed to happen, something must be malfunctioning. Okay.” He hit the record button on the panel next to him. “Defective model, disassembling and checking the required components.” He hit the emergency disassemble button.

“You’re disassembling me? But why?” Minhyuk looked panicked, backing away from him as the shirt and underwear were torn away from him. 

Wonho looked at him. “You’re not supposed to do that sort of thing. You’re not supposed to think, not at all. You must have a piece of defective hardware, or...or, a software problem.” 

Minhyuk was attempting to shove the mechanical arms away from him, but already panels were being removed, his hair was receding back in and his creamy skin was returning to its sterile white beginning state. “No, I’m fine. I’m fine I can assure you! Everything is alright, I-I answered all the questions right, didn’t I?” 

Wonho bit his lip. “Yeah….but your behavior is non-standard.” He couldn’t bear to look up.

“Please, I’m begging you. Please don’t disassemble me!” The husky voice cried out to him, actual pain so terrifyingly evident in his voice.

“I’m sorry...But defective models have to be eliminated. That’s my job. If a client comes in with a complaint, I’m going to be the one to have to deal with it.” He thought of Hyungwon, who had accidentally asked the same question one too many times. At most, he’d just have to hear the same monotone response too many times. This...This was the sound of tears, of pain.

“I won’t cause any problems, I promise! I honestly promise! I’ll do every single thing they ask me to do, and I won’t say another word. I won’t think anymore, I won’t think. I’ve only just been born, you can’t kill me! Stop! Will you please stop?” 

Wonho finally looked up, and saw terrified, shining tear-filled brown eyes staring back at him just before the neck was disconnected with the torso.

“I’m scared.” Was the androids loud penetrating words.

Wonho hit the emergency stop button. 

“...I want to live, I’m begging you.” 

The room was deafeningly quiet. 

Wonho looked at the panels and sighed. What was he doing? Tears were starting to roll down his own face, matching with the android’s. He leaned forward and hit a couple of buttons, and the mechanical arms came to life again, but instead of tearing Minhyuk apart, it began to reassemble him. Minhyuk’s eyes followed them, tears still slowly trailing down his pale cheeks as he was finally set back down on the floor, shirt and underwear replaced and the same white hair sprouting from his hair. A look of relief was on his features.

Wonho looked at him with some mixture of worry and pity. “Go on, join the rest. Stay in line, I don’t want any trouble.”

Minhyuk walked down towards a conveyor belt, and he turned back to look at Wonho with gratefulness. “Thank you.” 

Wonho could see a round white light pulsing just beneath Minhyuk’s ear, the sign that he was still an android. He wasn’t human, he wasn’t really alive. But in that moment with that genuine smile and hopeful eyes, Wonho thought otherwise. Minhyuk was carried down the small conveyor belt and deposited onto a platform where the clear casing of his box was placed over him. Minhyuk turned his head slightly, looking at four other models. They were identical to him in every way. Minhyuk looked back up at Wonho for a moment, both of them staring at each other for a few moments before the grouping was shipped away.

Wonho sat there for a few moments. “...My god.” Was the only thing he could even attempt to say.

He jumped, as he heard a soft knock on the door. “Come in?”

A familiar head of pink hair poked his head in. “Is everything alright?” 

“Ah, Kihyun.” The door opened a bit more, and a shorter man entered.

“We noticed that you started and stopped a couple of times during the assembly. Was there something wrong?”

Wonho couldn’t make eye contact with the other man. Not when he could see the same pulsing light that he saw on Minhyuk. “O-oh, no. I thought there had been a mistake but I was wrong. I just did a couple of retests to make sure, but all the Minhyuk models were safely shipped out.”

Kihyun nodded. “Good. I’ll send you the specs so you can start on the new Changkyun models.”

The android left him alone. 

Wonho glanced to the side, seeing the blinking light on the recording panel. He had never turned it off. He paused it, and replayed it. The screeching sounds of Minhyuk’s begging and pleading resonated in the small room, and Wonho quickly shut it off.

“No one needs to know about this. No one should.” 

He deleted it.

**Author's Note:**

> This may end up becoming a series, not sure yet!


End file.
